Hello, First Presbyterian,

 

We are in a very exciting moment in the life of our congregation. We are fully staffed with an incredible team, we have strong committees and officer boards experimenting with new forms of ministry and outreach, and our community partnerships and mission work continue to grow, such as with our new community garden partnership with the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (more on that soon). 

 

Because of all of that excitement and growth, our church’s session

has decided to spend time this fall and the following year focused

on strategic planning. Over the next year and a half, we’ll engage in

a three-step process of listening, learning, and dreaming together

about the future of our church. We’ll begin with macro-level surveys

and analyses, move toward micro-level listening sessions with

congregation and community members, and then summarize our

observations in a series of presentations and a final report. 

 

We want you to be part of that planning process. That’s why the

administration committee is hosting two informational sessions on

our strategic planning process. We’ll meet immediately after

worship on Sunday, September 15 at 12:30 pm in room 103 and

before worship (at 9:45 am) on Sunday, October 13 in room 103 to

discuss the timelines, process, and rationale behind our strategic

planning process. Most importantly, however, we’ll have information about how you can be involved throughout the planning process. We want as many people as possible to be involved in the surveys, small groups, and listening sessions that will help us discern where God is calling us to focus our attention as congregation. 

 

Toward that aim, you’ll be able to follow along with our strategic planning journey on our website by visiting www.fpcarlington.org/plan.

 

I hope that you’ll join us this fall for these conversations as we begin this important work together. 

 

Peace,

Pastor Billy